


Skinny Love

by Hotblack



Category: Glee
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, POV First Person, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:33:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hotblack/pseuds/Hotblack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hunter is the new captain of the Warblers and Sebastian just can't stand it. He should be the captain, after all. He was born to do this job. So, Sebastian does the only thing that's logical in this situation: he plots revenge against his new rival. What Sebastian doesn't expect to do is fall madly in love with the very enemy he swears to defeat. Of course, that's exactly what happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which my worst nightmare comes true

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is a fic that's been sitting around in my drafts for a while. I just never really wanted to publish it until now. I have a few chapters written out already, but from then on, I'll be writing as I go along. I hope you're all excited to take this little adventure with me! The Huntbastian fandom is starved for content, so I figure now is the perfect time to publish something that could potentially bring some of the fandom back.

Dalton Academy School for Boys stood tall in Westerville, Ohio. It was truly a work of art among architecture. Dozens of bricks made up the many outside walls and large, glass windows highlighted its majesty and richness. Due to its magnificence and grandeur, it was quite a magnet for transfer students.

Well, perhaps that wasn’t the only reason. Let’s face it; Dalton Academy was a school for little rich snobs whose parents were rich enough to spend thousands of dollars on tuition. I, Sebastian Smythe, was one of those kids.

This was going to be my year. I just knew it. I felt it in my bones and the anticipation of going to school the following day was almost making me foam at the mouth. I couldn’t wait to get in there and kick some ass. Yes. This was going to be my year as well as the Warblers’ year. As captain of the Warblers, it was my absolute priority to win nationals. I wasn’t going to go home a pansy this time.

What I hadn’t expected, of course, was to have my position taken from me in a coup d’etat of sorts.

\--

The story of how I lost my position in the Warblers starts with a bit of fantasizing. I was always fantasizing, of course, but there was new meat to be had at Dalton Academy and I was going to find it. I was determined to find my ideal man this year and he would be the crème de la crème.

Someone hot.

Someone blonde.

Someone muscular.

Someone currently walking toward me with a confused expression and a map in hand. Shit, this was it. I couldn’t believe that I’d already found the culmination of my fantasies standing right before my very eyes.

“Excuse me,” the young blonde said. “Do you know where I might find classroom 506B?” I took a moment to really just take this guy in at face value. He was so close to me now and I could see how good his uniform looked on him and how bright his green eyes were.

“And why should I help you, exactly? I had to show myself around. Have fun!” I said and gave him a thumbs up before proceeding to walk away. _What the hell, Sebastian?! What are you thinking?! That’s the hottest piece of ass you’ve ever seen and you’re just gonna walk away?!_ I swore that I could feel a pair of daggers fixing themselves on my back as I continued on down the hallway.

“What’s your name?” the really hot piece of ass called after me. I could tell by his tone of voice that he wasn’t very happy, but I turned around anyway to humor him. Now, I don’t claim to be a fucking saint or any of that shit, but I have to say that I probably looked godly standing before this Adonis.

“Sebastian. Sebastian Smythe,” I said with a smirk. Adonis’ eyebrows rose in recognition. A wide grin started to slowly form on his face. Uh-oh. I didn’t know what that was all about, but I wasn’t going to let it get to me. I stood my ground.

“That’s a pretty shitty way to greet your new Warbler’s captain,” Adonis said knowingly.

What.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him and I’m sure I looked rather confused. New captain? What? I was the captain, not him! “Excuse me?” I asked, starting to laugh jovially. “Are you kidding me? _You?_ Captain of the Warblers? I don’t think so. You see… _I’m_ the captain of the Warblers,” I continued, crossing my arms over my chest to show this guy that I meant business.

The boy smirked. I guess he found this whole ordeal pretty funny. He shook his head and walked towards me. No, stay away, you Greek god. “My name is Hunter. Hunter Clarington.” Fuck. He even had a name befitting his looks. He held his hand out for me to shake. I, of course, would not take it. I had much more pride than to shake the hand of this Hunter character. “And no. No, you’re not, my dear,” he said patronizingly.

“You see, the headmaster said he would do anything, ANYTHING, to have me attend this school right here in dirty old Lima, Ohio. So, I told him I wanted a position of leadership in whatever club or organization I wanted. It just so happened that the Warblers fit someone like me perfectly. I was considering directing the musical, but those idiots probably can’t dance for the life of them, and I do love dancing.” He almost laughed at the expression I was giving him. This motherfucker. “Oh, come now. Don’t look at me like that. I’m sure a group of guys as gorgeous as you will come to appreciate someone like me.” With that, he left with a tantalizing grin still plastered on his face.

His footsteps echoed in my ears as I tried to absorb everything that just happened. Hunter Clarington? New captain of the Warblers? Oh, hell no. I decided that instead of putting in a complaint to the headmaster (since something in the back of mind told me that the headmaster wouldn’t listen to me no matter what I said), I would just have to find a way to make Hunter regret his decision to lead the Warblers. Yes, I would have to get revenge on the fool. The fool who thought he could take away my Warblers from me.

Not today. Not ever.

I went home and started plotting and planning quickly and vivaciously. I was so excited to have someone who I could hold a grudge against again since I’d become Blaine’s brother. Blaine’s parents split up because my mother fell in love with his father. I never had a father, so I was pleased about the change. Plus, I figured I could just torture Blaine all the live long day. However, I didn’t count on Blaine having an older brother. His name was Cooper and he was pretty cool. Cooper sometimes helped me mess with Blaine and I loved him for that, but it never lasted. Most of the time, I was on my own in constructing new ways to torture my little brother.

I was bored. I was bored of playing footsie with Blaine. I was bored of Cooper helping me play footsie with Blaine on occasion. Volatile footsie. Not the kind of footsie that lovers do for a hobby or friends do when they want something to make fun of and laugh at. No, I wanted a real challenge. It just so happened that this Hunter Clarington seemed to be the right fit.

I was the kind of guy who had maps taped to every wall with little pins on them that plotted my enemies’ every move. I was just a little vengeful. Just a little. I had a vendetta against those who thought they were better than me. After all, I was the best of the best.

Hunter somehow _knew_ he was better than me and that’s what made me so damn angry. Hunter seemed so confident and self-assured that it got grated on my nerves to no end. I’d only just met the guy and I was already infuriated.

I heard the door to me room open and almost threw a comb at the person there. It was Blaine, my step-brother and sworn mortal enemy whom I was bored torturing. “What are you doing,” Blaine asked flatly. It wasn’t even a question. He was just so exhausted and exasperated by my maneuverings by now that he didn’t even bother asking. He just stated things.

“None of your business,” I snapped, just as I always did. Blaine rolled his eyes and, despite my obvious annoyance, came into the room and plopped down on the bed.

“You’re always doing weird things, Sebastian. Can’t you just be normal for once? Just… come have dinner with the family and stop doing whatever it is you’re doing,” Blaine pleaded. I started laughing. What an idiot.

“That’s so ironic coming from the least normal person I know. Well, okay, Cooper’s pretty abnormal, but,” I started, and we actually both laughed at that. “I’ll be down in a bit, okay? I just have to finish plotting.”

“Plotting what?” Shit. I hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

“Uh – Uh, nothing!! Nothing, just… You know, writing. I’m a writer now. Yup. This is my novel. This map represents where my main character’s going to be traveling throughout the novel I’m writing, haha!” I covered. Nice save, Smythe. Nice save.

“Yeah, nice cover up. If that’s so, then why does the title of your map say ‘ _My plan for successful vengeance against Hunter Clarington, the worst human being ever created!’_ Wait, Hunter?! Isn’t he the new kid that literally JUST transferred today?” Blaine asked.

“Your point?” I retorted.

“My point,” Blaine began, standing up, “Is that you should at least give the poor guy a shot! What did he even do?”

“He usurped the captain’s position from me in the Warblers,” I said quickly and matter-of-factly. Blaine held his breath at that. “Yeah. Now try and tell me he’s not already the first person I should plan vengeance against.”

“Okay, Sebastian, you need to stop this whole _V for Vendetta_ -esque lifestyle. Here, I’ll help you.” Blaine grabbed the map by its hinges and started ripping it to shreds.

“NO! What are you doing?! It took months to draw that map when I was trying to destroy you!” I cried. Blaine rolled his eyes, the little shit.

“This map,” he began, throwing the pieces in the garbage, “is pointless and will never work. I’m going to talk to Hunter tomorrow, and you two are going to start over. I don’t care if he’s captain of the Warblers or the king of freaking France, you’re not going to plan evil things against him like you did to me!” he said indignantly before leaving the room hastily.

“That’s what you think,” I mumbled with my trademark smirk. This was long from over. I didn’t stop plotting against Hunter. I didn’t care what my little brother said; this was my chance to finally get back at somebody and win.

That day, Blaine went to Dalton right before Warbler’s practice and entered the rehearsal room without my knowledge. He saw me standing on a desk, tying a bucket to the ceiling. “What are you doing,” he sighed.

“I’m working on my plot to take over the world, what does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting back at Hunter,” I replied. “This bucket is filled with ice cold water. When Hunter steps through that threshold to get to the captain’s seat, he’ll be soaked through with the water. The water’s so cold that he’ll probably catch a cold and die.”

“That – That is just insanity. You’re trying to kill him, now?! Get down from there. No, seriously, get down right now or I’ll –” Blaine accidentally stepped through the threshold and onto the clear thin thread that I tied the bucket up with. The bucket tipped over, despite my best efforts to keep it level, and the contents of it spilled all over Blaine’s body. I gasped and jumped off of the desk.

“Oh my god, holy crap,” I said somewhat frantically. If Blaine caught a cold and died, my stepfather would kill me!! “Do you feel like you’re going to die?!”

“I’m f-f-freezing! Get me s-something to d-d-dry myself off w-with!!” Blaine shouted miserably. He looked like a wet dog as some of his hair started to curl.

“Right. Right, okay! Gotcha. Yeah, I’ll—I’ll be right back!!” I said. Just as I was about to run out of the door, Hunter and two younger looking boys entered the room. I immediately glared at him. Hunter took one look at the whole situation before sighing exasperatedly, just as Blaine tended to do when he saw me doing something awesome (stupid). In this case, Hunter’s reaction was exactly as Blaine’s would have been.

“Oh, little Sebastian… What have you done? This poor person’s done nothing at all to you and you just had to embarrass him like this, didn’t you? How could you?!” I could hear the insincerity in Hunter’s voice, clear as a whistle. What a smug bastard. “Jeff, go get this man a towel!!”

“Yes, sir!” Jeff said, immediately running to the towel closet down the hallway near the lobby. Fucking traitor. Blaine looked up, wrapping his arms around himself.

“A-Are you H-H-Hunter?” he asked, raising a potentially frosted eyebrow.

“Yes,” Hunter responded, “I suppose Sebastian’s told you about me? It just so happens that I was more qualified than him to lead the Warblers. If you’ll stick around, I’d be happy to show you why.” Blaine looked at Hunter and then smiled.

“Well, you seem nice enough. I’m sure you’ll do a great job, but I’ll stick around anyway if I don’t contract the plague, first,” he said, throwing me a look. Hunter laughed mock-lightheartedly. I wanted to punch him so badly.

“We’ll try and warm you up as best we can! Nick, could you turn the thermostat up? Jeff, where are those towels?! I swear, the incompetency of this club… I’ll whip them back into shape. I’m sure they’ll be better behaved under me than they were under your direction, Sebastian,” Hunter said and I could just feel the venom dripping from his mouth. Blaine started laughing, taking what Hunter said as a joke, but I knew it wasn’t a joke. Hunter meant that remark. He was fighting back with a vengeance. I had to give him a little bit of credit, but not too much.

“That bucket was meant for you, Hunter, not my brother,” I said with a fake smile. “You see, my brother thinks you’re just peachy and the best possible replacement for me! I see right through you. You’re not going to take this position away from me without a fight.”

“This is your brother? Charmed, I’m sure,” Hunter responded, shaking Blaine’s hand as Jeff came back with his arms full of white towels. He started to help Blaine dry off and was thanked profusely for it. In that moment, I really envied my little brother’s naivety.

“Well, Sebastian Smythe… if you think you’re so much better than me, why don’t we have a little duel? A sing-off, perhaps? A dance-off? A performance of sorts? Whatever you pick, I’ll surely follow-up with something even more outstanding,” Hunter said nonchalantly, going to his desk to sort some things out. He put on a pair of thin framed glasses that looked as if they were used for reading.

I was fuming. How could Blaine not see what a little snob this bastard was being?! “We’ll each do a performance, then. No planning. I get half of the Warblers and I get to choose who I want to perform with since I’ve known them all longer,” I said. Hunter thought for a moment before folding his arms on the desk and looking up at me.

“Fair enough. I’m not afraid to dance and sing with people I haven’t known that long. You see, Sebastian, Blaine, I put a lot of faith and trust in people I haven’t known very long. I trust that these exceptional men will help lead me to victory,” he replied with a smug look. I was ready to wipe that smugness right off his face.

Blaine smiled, almost oblivious to what was going on. “This will be fun to watch. I guess the better captain will win, hm?” he said, looking between us as he sat on the couch with the warm towels wrapped around him.

“Oh, you are completely unbelievable!” I shouted. “How can you not see that he’s a little brat who’s trying to one-up me and get into your good graces?!”

“Because you’re even more of a snobby brat,” Blaine retorted coolly and with ease. I shut my mouth at that because he probably wasn’t wrong. I heard Hunter start to laugh. Shut the fuck up, you insufferable bastard.

“I’d hate to have to live with you, little Smythe. You seem like such a handful!” The way he laughed pissed me off. Ugh. I just wanted to get the better of him already.

“Alright, let’s just get this over with already so I can come up with the song lesson for the day!” Sebastian said. “Nick, Jeff, you’re with me. Trent, you can go with Hunter. Here – ” I cut a group of Warblers in half and took them with me. “You all are with me. The rest of you can go with Hunter. You’ll have one extra person, Clarington, but I’m sure you’ll need the handicap. Badly.”

I stood at the head of the room with the Warblers who I picked surrounding me. “We’re going to show you what it means to be in sync,” I said confidently. “Hit it!” Of course, I’d been able to tell them the song we were going to be singing and dancing to. We chose “Panic Station” by Muse.

When I moved one way, my back-up dancers moved the other. Nick and Jeff soloed at one point. Of course, none of them had voices quite like me, but they fit the bill nicely. Just by watching me, they were able to predict what they should do next. It was one of the techniques I helped them with last year: anticipatory analysis.

When we were finished, we all were panting because we were just a bit out of breath. I smoothed my hair back naturally and smirked at Hunter. “Your turn,” I said smugly, but I had the upper-hand. I had a right to be smug.

Hunter didn’t look fazed. In fact, he looked very nonchalant, which ticked me off and also worried me just a little. After the majesty of that performance, he didn’t even bat an eye? There was no justice in the world. Either that, or Hunter had something really incredible up his sleeve.

Hunter took his reading glasses off and flipped them onto the desk before smoothing out his Dalton Academy uniform jacket. He and his back-up Warblers did their performance to “Royals” by Lorde. They all worked in unison. It was a different atmosphere from my performance. I lead and everyone followed, but here, Hunter was letting everyone else lead with him and he helped them do it.

The performance was fantastic and just as good as mine, much to my chagrin. Blaine clapped at the end. “Wow… You’re both so talented. I mean, I knew Sebastian was talented, but you blew me away, Hunter! As Kurt would say, bravo!” he said excitedly.

“So, who won?!” We both asked desperately. I shoved Hunter out of the way and stood in front of Blaine. Hunter rolled his eyes and stood to the side, not caring whether or not he was the center of my little brother’s attention.

“Well, they were both very good performances, but I really think you should give Hunter a chance, Sebastian. He helps everyone to be their own leader and I could see that in his performance! I think you need to mature a little more, Sebastian, before you lead the Warblers. Try again next year!” Blaine said and stood up. “Thanks for the towels, but I think I need to go back home and get out of these damp clothes.”

“Oh, do you need a ride?” Hunter offered. Goody two shoes.

“No, but thanks! I’ll just have Kurt come pick me up,” he said.

“Alright, then we’ll see you around! Thanks again for helping us wrap up this whole debacle. I’m sure Sebastian will see things my way rather shortly,” Hunter replied, closing the door behind Blaine after exchanging smiles with him one more time.

“I hate you. I don’t like you, I don’t like your face, I hate your personality, and I don’t care what Blaine says. You are nowhere near ready to lead this group to a nationals’ victory,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Like you did any better? Face it, Sebastian. You couldn’t even lead the Warblers to a regionals’ victory, let alone get them to nationals,” Hunter explained. “Just step aside and let me do my thing.”

“Never,” I said with as much malice as I could muster. “I will never just step aside and let anyone do the job that I was born to do.” I paused for a moment as a new thought came to mind. “I’ll stay in the Warblers, Clarington, but only because I’ll be here for the boys when they realize just how awful of a leader you really are.” And with that, I left the room. I popped my head in a moment later, however, to say, “By the way, I’m not coming to practice today. I have better things to do than hear about your shitty plan for the upcoming year.” I left for real after that and stormed down the hall and up the marble staircase.


	2. In which there is a mutual understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited this chapter pretty quick. I'm really happy that you guys are enjoying the story! This chapter introduces a new character who will become pretty central to the plot.

That night, I lay on my bed wondering what I could do to make Hunter realize that I was the better captain. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, completely at a loss of what to do. I didn’t realize Cooper was at the door until I heard a quiet ‘ahem’ and the clearing of a throat. I lifted my head and my face lit up when I saw my brother Cooper standing there. “Coop!!” I exclaimed, standing up and bounding toward him. Cooper grinned and held his arms out for me.

“Hey, little bro! What’s up? How’s life?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me when I got close enough. Cooper and I were as close as step-brothers could possibly be. We used to do everything together. It was a good time and… honestly? I missed having him around. I missed him so much.

“It’s rough,” I sighed. “Some stupid transfer student named Hunter Clarington usurped the throne from me at Warbler’s practice.” Cooper’s eyebrows shot up.

“Clarington? As in, Clarington Inc.? The international business corporation?” Cooper asked. My eyes widened.

“You know, I didn’t even make that connection. Do you think…?”

“Well, isn’t your school for rich snobs?” Cooper asked. “I mean, you’re a rich snob. We’re all sort of semi-rich snobs, now,” he laughed. I laughed, too.

“I mean, yeah, he could be the son of the owner of Clarington Inc., but… I mean, what are the odds of that? That’s crazy!” I said.

“But is it? I mean, what were the odds that you’d transfer from France to an all boys’ academy in Lima, Ohio?” He watched my face contort a bit as I tried to wrap my head around the possibility of it. “Think about it. Anyway, Lina says dinner’s ready, so hurry up!” Lina was the name of my mom. I didn’t call Blaine and Cooper’s dad my father and they didn’t call my mom their mother. It was just the way it was. We loved all of our parents, but the term ‘mother’ and ‘father’ were exclusive to our birth parents.

“Okay,” I said and followed Cooper downstairs. We all gathered around the dinner table as if it was Thanksgiving. The food was passed around and hearty helpings were dished out. It was a good meal. Todd, Blaine and Cooper’s father, asked the general questions that my mother normally asked like ‘how was school?’ and ‘do you have any homework?’ I always gave the same answers, night after night: ‘good’ and ‘yeah, dad, I’m working on it.’

This time, however, Blaine piped in. “There’s this new guy at school named Hunter Clarington.” I wanted to strangle him. Why couldn’t he just keep his damn mouth shut?

“Clarington?” Todd asked. “As in, Mattheus Clarington of Clarington Inc.? His son?”

Blaine thought about that for a moment and said, “You know, I’m not sure. I’m not sure if it’s him at all. Sebastian could ask,” he said with a smirk. I gripped the table for dear life so as to stop myself from reaching over the table and wrapping my hands around Blaine’s scrawny little neck.

“No, no. That’s quite alright. I think Blaine should do it, honestly. I mean, he comes to the school often enough. Go on, Blaine, aren’t you great ol’ pals with Hunter?” I asked, venom dripping out of every word.  

“Oh, no, I insist. I really think you should talk to him, you know? Get the inside scoop. I mean, you were fantasizing about doing things to him just last night, weren’t you?” He was referring to my plots of revenge against Hunter, but I didn’t care. At that point, I couldn’t help myself when I rose from my seat and went after Blaine.

“HEY!” Todd boomed. “Stop it right now!” he shouted. “What has gotten into the both of you?! Is this about a guy or something?! Because if it is, I don’t want to know!”

Blaine looked away. “Yeah… You never want to know…” he mumbled.

“What was that?” Todd asked, almost glaring daggers at Blaine. Blaine looked up and gave a fake smile.

“Oh, nothing, dad. May I be excused?” he asked, rolling his beady little eyes at me.

“Yeah, me too?” I asked.

“Yes…” Lina sighed. “Can’t we ever just have a peaceful family dinner for once…?”

“Sorry, mom. Maybe if Blaine wasn’t such a baby, we could,” I said, kissing her forehead before starting upstairs.

“Well, maybe if you weren’t so sensitive!!” Blaine called back, following me up the stairs.

When we got to the top of the stairs, I whipped around to look at Blaine. “What the hell, Blaine?! Fantasizing? Really?! Are you trying to get us both kicked out?!”

“They’re our parents! They _should_ love us unconditionally!” Blaine told me. “We shouldn’t have to hide anything!”

“But it’s not like I like Hunter! I want to maim or seriously injure him. There’s a difference!” I said. I rolled my eyes when Blaine gave me a bit of a lost look. “Oh, whatever…” I sighed as I opened the door to my room and threw myself on my bed. “I’m tired of hearing that troll’s name for one day, anyway. Close my door and leave me alone.”

“You know, you’ll have to get along with him at _some_ point,” Blaine said. “He’s your captain. You’ll need to work together with him so you guys can win stuff this year. I mean, you won’t win Regionals because the New Directions will kick your ass, but you can hope.” I looked up at him at that and started laughing.

“Are you – are you kidding me right now?! The Warblers are going to wipe the floor with you tools!” I stated seriously. Now it was Blaine’s turn to laugh.

“Keep dreaming,” he said before leaving the room and closing the door after him.

“I’m serious!” I called. “We _will_ beat you!”

Now that I had a challenge arising from Blaine, I knew I needed to work together with Hunter to win sectionals, regionals and maybe even nationals for the Warblers. I couldn’t even remember the last time the Warblers had won a nationals’ trophy. It was that long ago.

Blaine opted to leave Dalton Academy after his freshman year. Although he liked the atmosphere there, his boyfriend Kurt went to McKinley High School. I thought it was a really stupid idea, but Blaine wanted to transfer so that he could be in the same school as his boyfriend. He comes to Dalton from time to time to visit and jam with the Warblers, but most of the time he’s rehearsing with the New Directions.

I went to school the next day with an ultimatum: either fake befriend Hunter or quit the Warblers. Obviously, I didn’t want to do the latter. I had to get Hunter out of the Warblers from the inside out before next year so that I could be the shining star. I caught sight of Hunter talking to a group of people outside of the music office. I waved him down before trotting over to him, gripping my bag roughly. “Could I have a moment?” I asked, pulling Hunter aside without receiving an answer.

“I was talking to people, but sure. Just pull me aside and take me, go ahead,” he responded with an exaggerated sigh. I felt like there was a double meaning in that sentence, but I chose to ignore it. My dirty mind could probably use a bit of spring cleaning, anyway.

“I want to offer you a proposition,” I offered, leaning against the wall.

“A proposition?” Hunter inquired.

“A proposition,” I responded. “I will stop hounding you about being captain of the Warblers _and_ I’ll cooperate with you while bitching as little as possible if, and _only_ if, you give me the majority of the solos in the group. And if that’s not possible, then I at least want some of the solos and most of the duets.”

Hunter seemed to consider this for a moment. “You won’t bring up not being captain to me, or any of the Warblers again this year, if I let you sing the most?” he asked for clarification.

“You have my word,” I said, crossing my fingers behind my back.

Hunter grinned mischievously. I didn’t like that one bit. It kind of freaked me out. “Okay. Wish granted. Make sure you’re at Warbler’s practice at three sharp, because your ass is mine.” He winked patronizingly at me before walking away. I couldn’t help but shudder at that.

Just as promised, I showed up at Warblers practice at exactly three sharp. No one was there. What the heck? Wasn’t this the time Hunter told me to be there? Didn’t the Warblers practice at this time every day? That’s the time that I made them show up last year, so I hoped Hunter hadn’t changed it.

Hunter walked into the room a moment later. “Hello, Smythe,” he said with an obviously mocking tone. He closed the doors behind him and took a few steps forward. Consequently, and instinctively, I took a few steps back.

“Where is everyone? And why are you closing the doors?” I asked, getting a little worried and nervous. The smirk that seemed to forever be plastered on Hunter’s face grew as he walked closer and closer to me.

“It’s just you and me, captain,” he said softly. I was seriously weirded out by the whole ordeal. What was Hunter’s angle?

“What – what does that even mean?! If there is no business here pertaining to the Warblers, then let me leave this instant!” I said frantically, albeit somewhat desperately. My voice cracked and I knew I sounded pathetic, but I was really confused about what was going on. Hunter watched me, amused and elated. He was probably getting a kick out of watching me struggle, the sick, twisted bastard.

“Oh, but you’re mistaken. You see, this _is_ business pertaining to the Warblers,” Hunter explained, walking further still towards me.

“Oh? And how is that?” I asked, backing up against the wall now. Hunter went right up to me and put a hand on the wall next to his head and above my shoulder. He leaned in really close and put his mouth to my ear.

“I will never let you be my co-captain,” he whispered against it. “I know about you, Sebastian Smythe, and I know what you’re up to. It’s not going to work, so stop trying.” Hunter let me go with a bit of a shove and gave me a despicable sneer before turning around and walking out of the practice room.

I can honestly say that for the first time in my life, I was terrified of another human being.

\-----

I walked to the Lima Bean for a coffee the following morning before school. After ordering my usual Grande chai tea latte, I walked over to the waiting area. Standing next to me was a person cloaked in a woolen red scarf and a beige overcoat. “It’s freezing outside,” he murmured.

“It’s only September, buddy. Not that cold,” I muttered under my breath. The guy seemed to pick up on it because he gave me an incredulous look.

“Easy for you to say. You’re already coldblooded.” I looked up at that.

“H-Hunter?!” I asked, alarmed. The guy pulled his scarf down.

“No,” he said softly. “I’m his twin brother, Clarence.” I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that.

“… Clarence Clarington?” I asked, snickering a bit. “How clichéd…”

“Yes, well, Hunter’s told me all about you, Sebastian Smythe. I don’t like the way you treat my brother,” Clarence said patronizingly. “You’re a jerk.”

“Wow. That’s real rich coming from a Clarington,” I said plainly. Clarence couldn’t help but laugh at that. What the hell was he laughing at?

“Hunter has an odd sense of humor. What he did to you in the practice room yesterday was his way of trying to stop you from trying to walk all over him. This is going to sound really weird and probably counterproductive, but he did that to try and get the good out of you,” he explained. I gave him an incredulous and disbelieving expression.

“That is _such_ a lie! I don’t know what kind of bullshit your brother’s fed you throughout the years, but that is just about the biggest lie I’ve probably ever heard! He wants me to feel inferior to him and he has some stupid complex with making me submit to him!” I was huffing with anger when I finished speaking.

“You must have an inferiority complex, then, because my brother’s just teasing you, I promise you that. He’s vented about you to me for the last few days. While I’ve never joined the Warblers, I can guarantee that Hunter only wants what is best for the group as a whole. If that means fazing you out until you cooperate with him, then he will do that. You have to take his actions with a grain of salt, okay?” Clarence took his latte when the barista handed it to him. “Come and sit with me?” he asked, going over to a table by the window.

I grumbled a bit, waiting for my tea to be handed to me. I took the tea and muttered a meek “thanks” before taking a packet of sugar and a stirring straw. Taking the lid off of the cup, I poured the sugar into the brown liquid and started stirring it in with the red straw. I lifted the cup up when I was almost positive that all of the sugar was dissolved. Then, I licked up the bottom of the straw and threw it in the garbage before putting the lid back on the cup. I walked over to the table that Clarence was seated at and sat down, crossing my legs.

I looked levelly at Clarence before resting my chin on my hands and saying, “I don’t know what your angle is, but I swear, if you’re lying to me…”

“I swear I’m not,” Clarence said and it sounded pretty sincere. “I swear it on my life and Hunter’s that this is what he’s told me. I believe it, but whether you want to believe it is up to you. I just know that my brother has never lied to me, as far as I know, for as long as I’ve lived.”

I was still suspicious, but I would give Clarence the benefit of the doubt for now since he seemed nicer and more welcoming than Hunter. I relaxed and sat up, nonchalantly taking a sip of my tea. “Okay. I’ll believe you for now. But if one more incident comes up and I find out that you lied to me, I’ll come after you with a vengeance. That’s a promise,” I said matter-of-factly. Clarence grinned.

“It’s a deal. Shake on it?” he asked, extending his hand to me. I looked at the hand with slight contempt, but shook it anyway. I finished my tea and threw it in the garbage before leaving with a curt “goodbye” to Clarence Clarington.

Walking to Dalton after that was a pretty pleasant experience. I loved having time to myself to think about things. Was Clarence really telling the truth about Hunter…? I secretly hoped so. I didn’t have any suppressed longing to be friends with Hunter, but I wanted to be somewhat civil with him. Of course, the only reason that I wanted to be civil with Hunter was so that I could stage a coups d'état against the unjust Clarington monarchy of the Dalton Academy Warblers.

I arrived at Dalton and took my scarf off once I got in the door. As I started walking down the hall toward my first period class, I bumped into someone somewhat shorter than me and fairly muscular. “Oh, shit, sorry!” I exclaimed. When I realized who it was, both my expression and my voice went flat. “Oh. Never mind. It’s just you,” I said monotonously. Hunter turned around to look at me.

“Now, is that any way to treat the young man you just bumped into? Come now, Sebastian, remember your manners,” he said teasingly. I rolled my eyes.

“Speaking of bumping into people, I just met your brother Clarence at the Lima Bean this morning. Interesting character. He seems to know you fairly well,” I said. I smirked when I saw the smile drop off of Hunter’s face. “Did I strike a nerve, Hunty?” I asked with mock endearment. I sort of liked the nickname Hunty. I made a note to himself to call Hunter that a lot from now on. If Hunter liked to tease people, then teasing was what he himself would get.

“Listen to what my brother says… but I’ll have to have a word with him. Whatever he said to you was meant to remain confidential, if he said what I think he did,” Hunter said slowly and cautiously. I raised an eyebrow.

“Well, what do you think he said…?” I asked curiously. Hunter shook his head and waved his hand as if to wave off the topic permanently.

“Nothing. Just… get to class, Sebastian,” he said seriously. “You don’t want to be late.” And with that, he walked down the hallway to his own first period class. I was left in the hallway, dazed and confused. What was that all about…?

I pondered what Hunter meant for the rest of the day. Hunter verified Clarence’s words, but I didn’t know if the words Hunter verified were the ones Clarence had actually said to me. I made a point of confronting Hunter before Warblers practice.

During my lunch break, I always went to the Lima Bean for coffee and a sandwich. What I didn’t know was that Clarence did the same thing. “Back again, I see,” I said after I ordered a caramel macchiato. Clarence looked up and gave a brief greeting smile and a wave.

“Yup. Me again. I come here for breakfast and lunch every day. I go to Carmel High School. I find this coffee irresistible. My brother goes to Dalton because he prefers the snotty, rich kid atmosphere. Then again, I get the same kind of atmosphere in Vocal Adrenaline. But it’s nice to not have to be surrounded by it _all_ day,” he explained. He took his coffee order at the end of the line and tipped the barista before sitting down in the same place that we were at earlier.

I took my coffee and sat down across from Clarence once again in the same manner that I had that morning. I, of course, did not tip the barista. I was a bit of a snob and I was proud to admit it. Kind of. Okay, maybe I was a big snob. One of the biggest. Anyway, I looked across the table at Clarence. “I need to ask you something,” I said.

“Go for it,” Clarence replied, raising his eyebrows as he sipped his coffee. “I’m all ears.” I took a sip of my coffee, as well.

“Hunter told me today that what you said to me was true, if what you said to me was what he thought you said to me. Could you tell me what he meant by that…?” I asked. Clarence took in a deep breath and sighed.

“I don’t know if I should disclose this… _Especially_ to you…” Clarence said carefully. I furrowed my eyebrows at that.

“What do you mean you don’t know if you should disclose it to me…? And what especially about _me_ specifically is restricting you from telling me this information that I still don’t know?” I asked as eloquently as I possibly could. I was a little frustrated at this whole back-and-forth thing that the Claringtons had going on with me.

“Hunter… well, he tends to get… you know, _attached_ to people. Specifically people who challenge him,” Clarence said. My eyes widened a bit.

“Wait – wait, so… So is that what he thought you told me…?” I asked. Clarence nodded solemnly. I leaned back against my chair and tried to take this in. “And it’s true? He’s… like, he’s attached to me? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that he likes you. Or he’s on his way to liking you as a person – maybe even as a friend. No one ever challenges him. When he does get challenged, well… It’s stimulating to him, I guess,” Clarence laughed softly. “I don’t get it, honestly. Hunter’s so different from me, regardless of the fact that we’re twins.”

“I still can’t see how you guys are twins,” I remarked. “I mean, you look nothing alike. Well, except for the fact that you’re both really attractive, and I mean that in the most platonic way possible.” Clarence couldn’t help but laugh a little harder at that.

“We’re fraternal twins. You know, twins from different eggs? We look nothing alike, but alas,” he said mockingly, “we were born on the same day.”

“Yeah, I get it… It’s just sort of a shock to anyone who isn’t told beforehand,” I said slowly. “Okay, but anyway… Am I supposed to confront him about this or… or something? Because I have no idea how to go about doing so…”

“You don’t have to say anything to him. Just don’t avoid him. Act as if nothing happened at all. Tease each other or whatever, but don’t let him think for one second that you know or suspect anything,” Clarence clarified. “Hunter’s an odd fellow, but he’s not stupid. He’ll know what’s up if you start acting any differently. He’ll feel more comfortable if he thinks I told you something different, which I technically did at first.” I nodded understandingly.

“Yeah, I just… I’m sort of flattered that he likes me…” I said fondly.

“He doesn’t like you romantically, I don’t think. He just likes you as a person and probably wants to get into your pants,” Clarence said.

“Oh. Well, that’s cool, too,” I said. “Still flattering that he likes me as a person, even if I’m sort of shitty.” Clarence couldn’t help but grin at that.

“You’ll get used to him. Keep trying to best him and take the captain position from him. He’ll love you for it,” he said.

“Okay,” I replied. “I’ll do just that. Thanks for having this chat with me, Clarence. I really appreciate it.” I extended my hand this time for Clarence to shake. He laughed and took it.

“I really shouldn’t, since you almost didn’t shake mine earlier today, but… I’ll let you off easy on this one,” he said with a wink and a smirk. I grinned back and stood up.

“I think I’ll take my coffee back to campus. I’ll see you around, Clarington,” I said, waving.

“See you!” Clarence called back and waved.


	3. In which a friendship is forged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian kind of wings everything.

At Warbler’s practice that day, I didn’t talk back to Hunter at all. Even though Clarence had told me to act natural, I was finding it exceptionally hard to. I watched as Hunter gave directions to the new people and asked the older members to demonstrate. I was even asked to demonstrate some moves and to sing, which I did gracefully, but it was almost robotic like and spiritless.

After practice was over, Hunter confronted me. “What is wrong?” he asked. “You’re acting like you’ve seen a ghost or something,” he said. I looked at him as if I were looking at myself in a mirror.

“Sorry,” I said softly. “It’s been a rough day,” I offered. Hunter’s lips formed a thin line and his brows furrowed.

“What did my brother say to you?” he asked. “Because this morning, you seemed totally confused about what I was saying and now you’re not even bugging me at practice. You told me you spoke to my brother today and I want to know what’s eating at you. I assume it has something to do with me, so spill it.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“No, it’s just… Clarence told me you like a challenge. Honestly? I don’t feel like challenging you now that I know that,” I said with a smirk. Though it was true that Clarence had said that, I wasn’t going to reveal what else he said. Hunter seemed to relax at that, his shoulders deflating as if a big weight had just been lifted off of them.

“Is that all?” Hunter asked with the usual smug look back on his face. “Well, Sebastian, I might just get bored if you don’t keep me on my toes,” he said. “I mean, after all, wasn’t your goal to… What was it, to one-up me? Yeah, fat chance,” he stated with a grin. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“You’re really dumb,” I laughed. I was actually laughing… with Hunter. It was something that I never thought would happen. Ever.

“Hey…” Hunter started, looking at me carefully. “Would you, um… Do you want to, I don’t know… Go over rehearsal schedules and plans with me?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow.

“Are you going to make me your co-captain? Because I’m not helping otherwise,” I said smugly.

“Well… You could be an undercover co-captain…? I actually really like leading this group… They respect me and if I have you partnering with me, they’ll see less value in me,” Hunter said. “What I told you the other day… I’m sorry about that, but I really can’t let the Warblers see me as weak. They’ll walk all over me and nothing will get done,” he explained.

I frowned. “Oh… Well… I mean, I guess I could go over a few things with you… You know, give you some of my world renowned expertise,” I said with a smile. Hunter smiled back at me brightly and I swear I felt my heart stop for a moment.

“Thanks… I really appreciate it. It isn’t as easy as it looks,” Hunter said and I nodded at that.

“Yeah, I know. Remember, I was captain last year,” I said.

I helped Hunter out with the rehearsal schedules and lesson plans until it got dark outside. Hunter looked up and noticed that the room was almost pitch dark. “Oh – should I turn on a light? It’s pretty dark outside,” he said, disgruntled.

“Pretty dark for six thirty in the evening in September…” I said. “I think maybe we should head back home, now.” Hunter smiled solemnly and nodded.

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. I mean, I had fun spending time doing this, we should uh… We should definitely do it again. Thanks. A lot,” he responded nervously. It was a bit uncharacteristic of him.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home,” I said with a smile, helping Hunter collect all of the papers and put them back into the binder he kept specifically for the Warblers.

We left the school and started walking south. “It’s cool that you live in the same direction that I do. Makes walking home easier,” I said, wrapping my scarf around my neck. It was pretty chilly. I could predict that it was going to be a cold winter if it was already this cold.

“Yeah,” Hunter said. “Thanks for doing this. I appreciate not having to walk home alone in the dark.”

“You’re welcome. I’m not too fond of walking home alone in general, let alone in the dark. I mean, I like having the time to reflect, but I always know where I’m headed, you know? At least if I’m walking around alone without a specific destination, I can think for as long as I want to,” I replied.

“Yeah, I get that. I like to think and have time to reflect, but only a little bit. Too much thinking and reflecting hurts my brain,” he laughed softly. I laughed, too. I couldn’t help it; Hunter’s laugh was infectious.

“So, what are your plans for college? Have you got any, yet?” I asked him. He shook his head.

“I mean, I thought about going into the military…” he said. “But I’m still a junior, you know? I still have time to map out my future.” My eyes widened considerably.

“You’re a junior? I thought you were a senior…” Great. Now he’d have to do modern warfare with Hunter for a whole extra year.

“Nope, I’m a junior,” he said coolly. “It’s better, anyway. I’d rather be a junior. I don’t want all of that college application stress hanging over my head until I graduate. Kinda sucks that graduation is going to be the only way out.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “As much as I can’t wait to get out of this town, I don’t want to go through the college process itself. It is so annoying to have to visit colleges and fill out form after form after form. I mean, I won’t need financial aid or anything, so that’s one less thing I have to worry about. It’s just that my marks, especially in English, are not very good.”

“What kind of accent is that, anyway?” Hunter asked. “I’ve been meaning to ask.” It was true. I did have a tiny bit of an accent in my voice, but I hardly noticed it these days.

“Oh, I come from France. I’ve been in the United States for a while, but my critical learning period occurred while I was in France, so I have a slight accent. Sorry, is it bothering you? I can try to hide it better –”

“No, no!!” Hunter exclaimed. “No, it is fine… I mean, I like it. It’s sort of sexy,” he laughed. “I mean, for people, I guess, that are into that stuff… I like accents, too, but like… Yours is not, like, sexy… to me… I just…” He looked flustered and frustrated.

“Don’t worry about it, I know what you mean,” I said reassuringly. Hunter sighed exasperatedly and nodded.

“Oh! This is my house,” he said, looking up. “Almost missed it! I’ll see you in school tomorrow?” he asked.

“It’s the weekend,” I mentioned. Hunter’s face fell a bit.

“Ah… Yes… You’re right. Well, I’ll see you around, then. Bye,” he replied before walking up the driveway to his house. I stayed and watched until I saw Hunter get inside of his house safely. Then, I continued walking toward my own house.

I was so happy that I could just sleep in. I fell face first onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow tiredly. I saw my phone buzz and light up. I groaned, tempted to ignore it, but it kept going off. Sighing, I snaked my arm over the space between my bed and nightstand to grab my phone.

**From: Unknown Number  
Hey. -H**

My eyebrows furrowed as I thought for a minute. “H…? H what?” I asked out loud. Then, a light bulb went off in my head. “OH! Hunter!” I looked at the text a moment longer before responding.

**To: Unknown Number  
is this hunter -S.**

**From: Unknown Number  
Yes! Hi, sorry. I should have clarified. –H.**

I quickly edited his contact information in my phone.

**To: Hunter  
hey what’s up -S.**

**From: Hunter  
Not much! I’m just catching up on some TV shows I’ve been neglecting for my AP Bio homework. –H.**

**To: Hunter  
interesting. yeah, I dont have a lot of homework, just some crappy English reading that I won’t be doing –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Have fun getting in trouble :P -H.**

I grinned at the screen. “

**To: Hunter  
maybe i like trouble –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Do you? –H.**

**To: Hunter**  
**scratch that I DEFINITELY like trouble –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Do you like it so much that you love it? –H.**

**To: Hunter  
i wanna marry it. trouble is my last name –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Hmm, I see. Do you want to hang out tomorrow? –H.**

I watched my phone screen for a really long time, trying to find any sign that Hunter was joking. I checked the iMessage status and found that Hunter wasn’t typing anything back as if to try and correct himself, so I texted back.

**To: Hunter  
sure. what did u have in mind -S.**

**From: Hunter  
You could just come over my house and we could hang out? Play video games? Do you like Call of Duty? Gears of War? Do you play Xbox? –H.**

**To: Hunter  
yeah i play –S. **

**From: Hunter**  
**Which do you play? –H.**

**To: Hunter  
everything. i prefer Gears, but i do really enjoy hacking the heads off of zombies –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Yeah? Lol –H.**

**To: Hunter  
yeah. ill hang out with u tomorrow, just text me when I should come, k? –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Okay, cool. Well, I need to sleep. I have to get some work done in the early morning. Talk to you later. –H.**

**To: Hunter  
ok nite –S.**

**From: Hunter  
Goodnight**! **–H.**

I put my phone back on my nightstand and rolled over to face the wall. I hated to admit it, but I was smiling. I was happy about this. I was happy about hanging out with Hunter Clarington! The same Hunter Clarington that I had been forming a vendetta against since the beginning of the month. I sighed and close my eyes, hoping I would wake up and this would all just be in my imagination and I would be captain of the Warblers again.

I slept through my alarm on Saturday morning, but thankfully, Hunter’s text woke me up. The loud vibration from my phone kept buzzing until I finally reached over and grabbed it. I unlocked my phone and looked at the screen.

**From: Hunter  
You can come any time after 12. If you come between 12 and 2, I may even make you lunch! :) –H**

Well. That was an exceedingly kind message. I was a little uncomfortable with this kind side of Hunter. I suddenly found myself liking the spiteful, evil Hunter that challenged me not so long ago for the captain’s position.

**To: Hunter  
cool –S.**

**From: Hunter  
See you then! –H.**

\--

I was sure I had the right address. I looked back at my phone a couple of times just to make sure I wasn’t reading it wrong. Nope, I definitely had it right. The house was absolutely gigantic. It looked even more magnificent and luxurious than Dalton Academy. There were rose bushes stacked against the outside walls below the bottom window sills. There were about four windows symmetrically placed on each wall. There was a rather large door with two handles that allowed it to open on the left and the right. Both sides of the door had large, decorated glass through the middle of the wood.

The house itself was made of stone. I figured it must have taken many, many years to build. It looked as if it was constantly being worked on to make sure nothing was corroding or breaking down due to wear. It was definitely a very old house, but it looked brand new and very lavish.

There were big, white gates before the stone path to the front door. I tugged on them a bit just to test whether or not they were locked. They were, so I dialed Hunter’s number and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?” Hunter asked when he picked up the phone.

“Hey! Uh, your gate is locked…” I replied, trailing off as I saw someone come out of the house and down the porch steps. As he got further down the driveway from the house to the gate, I could make out that it was Hunter.

When Hunter made it to the gate, he clicked a button on the stone wall adjacent to the gate and it began to open quickly. “Hey! Sorry about that. I didn’t know you were coming so early. Otherwise, I would have had the gates set to open automatically,” Hunter explained.

“Oh, that’s alright,” I said, not bothered by it one bit, which was strange for me. “I know you told me to come after twelve, but I didn’t want to be late. I thought I’d get lost, honestly. I underestimated how long it would take to get to your house.”

“It’s okay,” Hunter said. “I finished doing everything around eleven, anyway, so it’s just as well that you came by early. Come on, follow me to the house,” he said, waving his arm toward the stone path before starting to walk. I smiled as he pulled his tan overcoat tighter around his body and re-adjusted the bag he had slung around his neck. I walked with Hunter all the way to the house and my jaw dropped once we got to the grand foyer. I had a really, really nice mansion in France, but it was nowhere near as elaborate and luxurious as this one. The architect who designed the place really paid attention to detail.

The foyer was white and the floor was tiled with little black diamonds in the middle of each white square. If you were just entering the room, then the stairs were on the right of the front door. The stairs ran along the right wall to the second floor. They had a dark railing with detailed patterns embedded in it. There was a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling that looked like it weighed a couple of tons. There was a wooden door on the left that led to other rooms.

I closed my jaw before Hunter noticed. I didn’t want Hunter to know that I was amazed with the house. I was a rich snob, too, after all, and I wasn’t about to let Hunter think that he was probably richer than me. “It’s… nice. I mean, it could do with a fresh coat of paint,” I lied. The inside of the house looked just as kept up on as the outside.

“Could it?” Hunter inquired. “It was just done last week… I’ll tell Jean to re-do it.”

“Jean?” Sebastian asked.

“Oh, she runs the renovation team that does work on the house,” Hunter explained. My eyebrows shot up.

“You have a team of people just do renovations on your house?” I asked incredulously. I realized that I was giving myself away and I gave a small cough before clarifying. “I-I mean… Is that all? I have two.” Hunter couldn’t help but smile to himself.

“Is that so? Good for you,” he remarked. I figured he was fooled, but he had a sort of knowing look on his face. I wondered if he could see right through me. “Come, follow me! We’ll go to the kitchen. I’ll make you some food,” Hunter said, starting to walk through the left door.

“Don’t you have servants for that?” I remarked snidely. Hunter stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“Not servants,” he started, “just people who really love their jobs.” With that, he continued walking through the house and to the kitchen. I followed distantly behind. When we got to the kitchen, Hunter turned around to face me. “What would you like to eat?” I was taken aback by the question, but I started to think of what I was in the mood for. I decided to play with Hunter a little.

“Pizza,” I said simply. Hunter raised an eyebrow and then shrugged.

“Pizza? Well, it might take a little while, but I’ll try and have the dough done in twenty minutes,” he said, going over to the large pantry door. He opened it and grabbed the flour and some other ingredients to make dough with.

“You’re going to make it from scratch?!” I asked, completely floored. Hunter nodded as if it was nothing to make a full pizza from scratch.

“Yeah! I do it all the time. … Is that a problem? Do you not like homemade pizza…?” His smile started to drop a little.

“No, no, I love it. I just didn’t think you knew how to make it…” I explained. Hunter gave a small laugh.

“Us rich kids have to have some type of hobby, don’t we?” he replied.

“I suppose so…” I responded slowly. “What’s this?” I asked, pointing to a jar full of green goop.

“That? Oh, that’s pesto! I’m making tomato basil pizza with a pesto topping. Is that alright?” Hunter asked. He suddenly got nervous when I didn’t respond. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask if you like tomatoes or pesto –”

“No! No, it’s okay,” I said. “That’s completely alright. I’m sure it will taste great. Keep making it,” I continued with a smile. While the pizza was in the oven, we sat at the kitchen table with cups of coffee in our hands: Hunter’s, black, and mine, light and creamy.

“So… Why did you leave France, Sebastian?” Hunter asked curiously. I was caught off guard by the question, but I wasn’t afraid to answer it.

“Oh… Well, it was my mother’s decision, really. When my parents split up, dad got the house and mom wanted to move far away to get a fresh start. She said she always dreamed of living in the United States. So, she bought a house in Westerville, Ohio, we packed up our stuff, got on a private jet and a cargo plane, and flew to the United States,” I explained as vividly as I could manage. Hunter listened intently and nodded his head often to let me know that he was listening.

“I hope your mother likes America. I mean, America kind of sucks,” he laughed, “but it’s got its merits. My parents came from Germany.”

“Oh, yeah? That’s cool,” I said. “Have you ever been?” Hunter nodded.

“Yeah. It’s so beautiful there,” he said. “I can go whenever I want, but I feel like going too often would spoil the beauty. You should come with me sometime.” He looked up at me and gave a slight half-smile. I shrugged.

“Maybe. I haven’t been outside of the United States since we got here. It’s not a matter of not having money, it’s just that the money isn’t in my command. My stepfather and my mother handle the money and they decide where it goes. I can’t just up and take a trip to Europe anytime I like,” I said, bitterness seeping through my every word. Hunter nodded in understanding.

“I see. I guess that’s a big change from what you were able to do in France, huh? I mean… Germany’s just a car ride away,” he laughed, but I wasn’t amused. Hunter looked back at the oven. The pizza still had a while before it was ready.

“I have a quick question,” I said.

“Go for it,” Hunter responded. “The floor is yours.”

“Thanks. Um… Okay, so… Is your father Mattheus Clarington? Of Clarington, Inc.?” I asked. Hunter’s face turned pretty grave at that.

“I – yes. Yes, he is. But let’s not talk about him,” he said. “Do you want to play a game? We could play Gears…” he suggested. I could tell that there was probably a really important reason as to why Hunter wouldn’t talk about his father. I decided to let it go.

“Who’s going to watch the pizza?” I asked.

“Oh, the timer’s really loud. We’ll hear it, I promise. We’re just going to the living room, anyway.” He put his coffee down and led me through the house to the large living room in the center of the house. There were white couches everywhere and a large, 110-inch HDTV was hanging on the wall.

“Isn’t that… The largest television in the world?” I asked, pointing to the television. Hunter looked over at it.

“Oh, yeah. We had it imported from China a few weeks ago. It’s pretty great, but it wasn’t cheap. I think it was somewhere near $40,000? Maybe more,” he said. Suddenly, Clarence walked into the living room.

“Hey,” he said, looking at me.

“Hey!” I said back. I liked Clarence. Clarence could stay. Hunter looked up at his brother and furrowed his eyebrows a bit.

“What are you doing home so early? Don’t you have things to do?” he asked, busying himself with putting Gears of War into the Xbox.

“I finished most of what I had to do,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, I wanted to come home and play Call of Duty, but I guess you guys are going to take over the living room for the rest of the day. I’ll just go play up in my room.”

“You do that,” Hunter snapped. Clarence frowned before going up the stairs to his bedroom. I gave Hunter a worried look.

“What was that all about? I thought you guys liked each other. There was a lot of animosity between you two just now and it was coming from you,” I remarked. Hunter shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re just… There’s a lot you don’t know,” Hunter said slowly, as if he was thinking of every word as he spoke.

“Then tell me about it,” I said obviously.

“I’d rather not. It doesn’t concern you. Butt out,” Hunter said, getting increasingly agitated. I glared at him a bit.

“You know, as your ‘friend,’ I thought hanging out with you was going to be a lot more fun, but you’ve made me feel less and less welcome every minute. So, maybe I should go,” I said. Hunter’s head snapped up and his eyes widened with concern.

“No, don’t go!” he said, standing up and crossing over to me. “I’m sorry, I just… Some things happened last night between my brother and me. It’s between us and us only. I would include you if you were involved,” he said. I watched him warily before conceding.

“Okay…” I said. “But are you going to tell me eventually?”

“If I have a reason to,” Hunter responded. “I’ll tell you about it when the time is right. Come on, let’s play,” Hunter said, sitting down on the couch and inviting me to sit next to him. We played video games until the sun went down. The pizza was fantastic but I honestly didn’t expect anything less from a rich guy whose hobbies included mostly cooking. He was actually really, really good at Gears of War and when we switched to Call of Duty, he kicked my ass in that, too.

“Geez, is this what you do with all of your free time when you aren’t cooking?” I asked, laughing a little bit. Hunter gave a small smile and shrug but he kept his eyes glued to the screen where he was reloading his ammo.

“Clarence and I play against each other all of the time. We’ve built up some serious skills over the course of our lifetime,” he responded. I saw a brief image of a tiny Hunter and Clarence sitting on the floor playing something like Crazy Taxi for the DreamCast. I got a spark of inspiration from it.

“Do you have a DreamCast?” I asked Hunter suddenly. Hunter had no idea, but I was really good at racing games and anything having to do with cars. That’s why I loved Grand Theft Auto so much. Of course, I mainly wound up causing chaos and destruction within the town that each GTA took place in, but when I actually played the game for the plot, I was damn good at it.

“Yeah, why?” he asked. “I haven’t played it in forever so I’m not even sure if it works, but it probably does.”

“Great. Do you have a game called Crazy Taxi?” I asked. Hunter couldn’t quite see what I was getting at because he raised one eyebrow at me and gave me a bit of a confused look.

“Uh – yeah, I have it. Do you want to play it or something?” he said. I smirked and nodded slowly.

“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It’s the one game that I’m one hundred percent certain I can kick your ass in,” I said. Hunter suddenly smirked back at me. We were having a smirk-off, I was certain. He went to go hook up the DreamCast and the game.

I did exactly what I promised I would do. I kicked Hunter’s ass in Crazy Taxi. The point of the game was to pick up customers and drop them off in their designated locations. You had to follow the arrows to get to the location. “Damn,” Hunter remarked. “You’re really good at this one. I guess I dominate in FPS games and you dominate in racing games.”

“I played a lot of Mario Kart throughout the years,” I lied. Well, it wasn’t a lie. I was actually omitting a ton of other car and race based games that I’d played over time, GTA included.

“Well, I commend your skills, oh wise Sebastian,” Hunter said, giving me a mock bowing gesture. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Dumbass. Come one, let’s go another round so I can wipe that stupid, dorky smile off of your face.”

And that’s how I became friends with Hunter Clarington. It’s not what I was expecting and I was actually kind of disappointed to give up my plot of revenge against the guy, but in a way, I was happy that our war of wits was over. Although it didn’t last very long, it made me realize that we actually got along pretty well. Together, we were going to take the Warblers to nationals and reclaim our spot as the top show choir in the nation.


End file.
